The Portland daily press., 1887-07-09
Promise and Performance.

Those who maintain that President Cleve-
land has fulfilled the promise which he
made in regard to civil service reform, or
even has made brave ATTEMPT to live up to
his professions that the civil service should
be ON business instead of political basis,
should read the leading editorial in Harper's
Weekly this week. Not long ago there was
published in several papers a table of changes
in the national civil service. Mr.. Curtis
bases his editorial upon this table, of which
he speaks as follows: 1.-THE papers which
published the table have given no authority
for it, but we have observed no denial of its
accuracy, and there has long been surmise
that changes in the service have gone quite
beyond an equitable distribution between
the parties-a course which, as we said,
would have seemed, as an expedient, reason
able to the public mind" The table shows
that the number of employees of the govern
ment of all kinds contained in the official reg
lister is about 49, 900 or 10000. OF these about
1900 are included in the classified service,
which covers about $3.50 places in the depart
ments at Washington. and 1868 in the postal
and customs service elsewhere, distributed
among twenty-eight post offices and eleven
custom houses. Outside of the classified SER
vice all the minor places are held at the
pleasure of limited number of superior
officers, such as postmasters, collectors Of
customs, and other port officers, district at
torneys, marshals, etc. So it happens that
an apparent change of few of these officers
may mean real change of hundreds or
thousands of subordinates. Harper's Week
ly illustrates this point by citing Jefferson
famous letter to Duane in 1903, in which the
former explains his apparent slowness in
making changes by pointing out that in the
State of Pennsylvania there were only eight
officers subject to his nomination, and that
of these five were in Jeffersonian and three
In Federalist hands. But he adds that the
five Jeffersonians have the appointment of
every subordinate officer, while the Federal
lists cannot appoint even their own clerks"
According to the table now published, the
number of chief officers in the country, in
GLIDING the 5000 or more fourth. class post
masters, Presidential postmasters, collect
ors, land officers, and many others, is 56, 1874.
of these there have been A., 1892 changes Of
the 52,609 fourth class postmasters who hold
Office at the pleasure of the Bourbon-loyed
Stevenson, $4,000 have been changed. The
rest of the small postmasters have not been
turned out because their offices are so small
that no one wants them. OF the 1859 Presi-
dental postmasters, who have term of
four years, a very inconsiderable number, so
far as known, have been reappointed. and all
but 800 or 400 have been changed. OF Ill
collectors of customs, who have the same
term, 100 have been changed. From the con-
illusions inevitable from such facts as these,
Mr.. Curtis, to his credit be it said. makes no
attempt to escape. He frankly says:
If the statement regarding the fourth class post
offices is proximately accurate, there has been a
clean sweep of that service in two years. If that
be possible under an administration whose head
Is sincerely interested in reform, what is TO pre-
vent similar sweep under any successor; and
where, then so far as this matter is concerned, IS
the gain for reform? Great changes, indeed,
were fairly to have been expected. Even dvi-
sion OF the service between The parties, although
a procedure not justifable by the principles of
reform, might have been accepted as, under the
circumstances, an expedient compromise. But
the table which has been published. if not alto
gether incorrect, shows that by the close of the
term OF the administration the civil service will
be as completely partisan as under any recent
administration.
The leading Mugwump supporter of the
administration is forced to admit that the
President of such high hopes is after all only
Democratic spokesman. And Mr.. Curtis
does not lessen one particle the Presi-
dents fault by limiting that Republican
administration would have done no better.
Whatever growth the principle Of civil SER
vice reform has enjoyed, has been under
Republican administrations; to say that its
fortunes are equally safe with an Executive
who, as figures show, in the distribution of
spoils has surpassed Andrew Jackson in
everything but frankness, is an assertion as
inexplicable as Mr.. Curtis's admissions are
ingenious.